Question number four. The gods and rituals.

Philosophy of the Slavs is reflected in their beliefs: the Triglav (the ancient Trinity) and dialectic integrity of contrasts. So, the world was divided into good and bad (in Slavonic outlook they corresponded to white and black). White was correlated with a positive start, black – with a negative one. Opposition “white-black” is embodied in the pantheon – there were Belobog and Chernobog – two Slavonic antagonist deities who personified in their fight the forces of the light (Yav’) and the darkness (Nav’). Rod is also positive, as it gives life, fertility, and longevity , while opposing it Marena and Nav meant death. Living water and dead water symbolised life and death. Slavs felt that the harmony between the earthy and heavenly worlds was very slight and breakable, that it why they needed the help of their ancestors and gods (that is, the representatives of the heaven) in real life, while the Truth (Pravda) and Lie (Krivda) were struggling.

Ancient Slavs believed that the three sphere of the world – the human, the divine and nature – were integral, and understanding viewed the world as the eternally living fire, fading and lighting up rhythmically and steadily.

The continuous struggle of light (good) and dark (evil) dark forces of nature was embodied most visibly in Slavs’ ideas about the cycle of seasons. The starting point was the New Year – the Sun birth in late December. This celebration got name Kolyada (from Lat. Calendae – the first day of the month). The complete victory of the new thunder over the winter – “death” at the Vernal Equinox (весеннее равноденствие) ceremony celebrated as Marena’s funeral. Goddess Marena simbolised death in the seasonal rituals of nature’s death and resurrection. There was also a custom of walking with May (the symbol of spring), a small Christmas tree, decorated with ribbons, paper and eggs. Deity of the sun, which was ritually seen-off for winter time, was called Kupala, Yarylo and Kostroma. During the festival, a straw man, symbolising these deities was either burned or drowned in the water.

To summarise, it was the seasonal cycle of agricultural work that made Slavs worship to the gods, patronising different spheres – the sun, rains and thunders, wellness and harvest, etc. Magic rituals were a kind of pray to the gods to help them. These celebrations survived to different extend in different regions of modern Ukraine notwithstanding the long-centuries history of Christianity in our lands, and, later, the 70-years long cruel atheistic policy of the Soviet Union.

By the end of the pagan period funeral rites became complex as retinue troops (King’s druzhina) got developed. Weapons, armor, horses, wives were burned together with prominent ancient Rusichi.

Funeral rites always had a special place among Slavonic rites. There were two main types of funeral rite – burials and cremation. Prehistoric tradition to bury the body flexed, that is artificially copying the position of the embryo in the womb, was associated with belief in rebirth after death. Therefore, the dead were buried prepared for this second birth. Ancient Slavs in the Bronze Age refused this flexed position. Soon completely new funeral rites appeared, because people beliveved that the human soul was not re-incarnated in any other creature (like an animal, a human, or a bird), and moved into the air space of the sky. The cult of the ancestors split in two: on the one hand, an invisible soul became one of the heavenly forces, so important for those farmers who did not have irrigation, and everything depended on the heavenly water. On the other hand, it was necessary to make good ancestors – “grandfathers” (in Ukrainian “did”) very close to the earth, giving birth to harvest. Slavs achieved this by burying the burned ashes to the ground and building a model home over the burial, called “domowina”. In the 9^th-10^th centuries A.D., after Kyiv state had already formed, some of Rus’ nobility started to practice simple burial without cremation again. It was probably the consequence of Christian Byzantium influence, relations with which were renewed. But as soon as the long-standing war with the Empire started, nobility resumed cremation. Mounds of epoch of Sviatoslav, who persecuted Christians, were grand constructions on the high banks of rivers. Their funeral pyres had to be visible within a radius of 40 km, which is as far as 4-5 thousands of square kilometers!

Ancestors’ cult got great importance. Eastern Slavs believed that Rod and his Rozhenitsi, or Rod Mothers (grandfather and grandmothers) were guardians of all the relatives – it is an evidence of polygamy, which once was there in Slavonic tribes. Chur, or Schur was also worshipped to as a godlike ancestor (in Ukrainian “praSchur”). Even now there is a saying “Chur me!” that is “Grandfather (Chur), save me!” which survived a hitherto as a spell against evil forces or unexpected danger.

Culture of the Rus’ was synthetic, influenced by various cultural trends, styles and traditions. Yet, population of the Rus’ was not affected by this influence, but accustomised those borrowings to their cultural tradition, people’s experience, understanding of the world, their views on the beauty. Pagans were skilful in many arts and crafts. They engaged in painting, sculpture, and music.

Archelolgical excavations in the ancient cities prove diversity of urban life, archaeologists found a large number of household utensils, tools, bone combs, and jewelry made of non-ferrous metals and glass. Plenty of female ornaments made it possible to study crafts. Slavs produced high-quality products made of iron. Ancient jewelers reflected their world view on diadems, rings, and earrings. Floral ornaments tell about “Koshchei’s death,” seasonal changes and the pagan gods’ lifes. Unknown animals, mermaids, griffins, and Simargl occupied the imagination of those artists.

Heathen clothes differed into everyday – functional, and ritual. Clothing was decorated with images of amulets, new mothers, the sun and the earth symbols. It reflected world levels. The upper tier, the sky was compared with the headwear; footwear was consistent with the land.

The mainstream of the pagan period of Rus’ architecture development (the 5^th-9^th centuries) was building of fortresses, castles, palaces, towers, and pagan temples. Unfortunately, almost all the pagan architecture was wood and we almost lost. Still, some surviving Early Christian stone churches have pagan motifs in decoration and ornament. This is typical of period of dual faith when an artist could depict a Christian saint and the pagan god, to bring together the cross and ancient Slavic symbols in floral ornament. There existed a variety of pagan festivities and rites. As a result of centuries-long observation Slavs created their own calendar, which accented festivals associated with agricultural cycle.

The first written monuments were things, which meant some message, and later (approximately in the 9^th century) Rus people enjoyed inscriptions, carved on wood. Texts were squeezed out with a special tool – stylus on the birch bark.

The main forms of folklore included: retellings, bylinas (traditional heroic poems or heroic epic), songs, legends, etc., which proclaimed humanism, justice, and faithfulness to beloved.

Musical arts reached significant development, too. Eastern Slavs in ancient times used a variety of musical instruments, such as horns (гудки), pipes (свирели), gusli (ancient fretted instrument of Rusichi – струнный щипковый инструмент), tambourines (бубны), flutes and the like. Wandering minstrels, the so-called “skomorokhi”, were widely known performers of dance and songs.